The practice of applying traction to the spine of a patient for therapeutic purposes is commonly prescribed by physicians, physical therapists and chiropractors. When professional judgment calls for a patient to be placed in a supine position, a harness is normally attached to the patient by encircling the lower abdomen with a harness that consists of a belt which must be attached by straps to a traction head. The Saunders Group, Incorporated of Chaska, Minn. sells harnesses of this type including its harness model # 46210. The belt portion which encircles the abdomen must be cinched tightly enough to capture the pelvis of the patient and thus transfer the traction force from the traction head through the belt to the pelvis and in turn to the lower spine. When applying traction, the upper part of the body is similarly captured by a thoracic harness. Thoracic harnesses including that designated as model no. 46205 can also be obtained from The Saunders Group, Incorporated of Chaska, Minn.
In order to place a patient in the supine position, the clinician first places the patient on a treatment table with the patient's back resting on the table and with the patient's legs extended straight and essentially level. The clinician then assists the patient in raising his/her legs onto a stool that is placed on the table between the patient's lower legs and the table such that the upper legs are close to vertical and the lower legs are parallel to the plane of the table. Stools are available from the Chattanooga Group, Inc. The clinician can then adjust the patient's lower legs' elevation by loosening and then retightening a vertical adjustment clamp while supporting the patient's legs so the stool does not collapse to its minimum height.
Difficulties arise with this treatment method in the case of obese, elderly or pregnant patients. With obese patients, for instance, the harness belt is frequently difficult to tighten sufficiently to capture the pelvis, which results in the force from the traction head being distributed through the soft tissues throughout the pelvis. This results in (1) discomfort to the patient; (2) slippage of the belts; and (3) uncertainty as to the actual spinal treatment force.
This invention relates to a patient positioning device for controlling the movement of a patient into the supine position. This invention also relates to a system for positioning a patient into the supine position and applying traction to the patient.